[Oral health of the child population. I. Situation in Hungary based on the epidemiologic study conducted for the WHO Oral Data Bank in 1996].

It is strongly suggested by WHO to undertake regular 5-yearly epidemiological surveys, to monitor changes in oral health. In Hungary the first national baseline examinations were carried out in 1985, followed by data collections in 1991 and 1996 according to the WHO basic criteria, using the pathfinder methodology. The aim of the present paper is to give up to date information on the oral disease status, trends, and treatment needs in children based on the recent survey. A total of 1800 children were examined at 17 sample sites. Age groups were: 5-6 years and 12 years. The basic findings were: The ratio of caries free 5-6 year old children was 27% The DMFT mean level was 3.8 at 12 years, i.e. the caries level has decreased in this age group. The parodontal situation did not show any improvement in 12 year old. More than two third (72.0%) of the children had gingivitis, need oral hygiene instruction and a third of them (32.3%) had dental calculus.